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Wöhler’s Urea Synthesis: Modern Version George B. Kauffman and Steven H. Chooljian Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-0070
In a masterly review of the literature, including research articles and textbooks, Cohen and Cohen (1) effectively demonstrate that Friedrich Wöhler’s classic synthesis of urea from inorganic cyanates (1828) did not immediately sound the death knell for the doctrine of Vitalism, as some oversimplified accounts would lead us to believe. As was the case with Avogadro’s hypothesis, more than a half-century elapsed before all the implications of the discovery were fully realized. Chemical educators who wish to have their undergraduate students repeat Wöhler’s synthesis—one of the true classics of chemistry—with modern variations and
additional confirmatory tests to prove that urea has indeed been produced, may consult our “modern version of a classic experiment” (2). A microscale version of Wöhler’s synthesis is also available (3). Literature Cited 1. Cohen, P. S.; Cohen, S. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 883. 2. Kauffman, G. B.; Chooljian, S. H. J. Chem. Educ. 1979, 56, 197. 3. Tanski, S.; Petro, J.; Ball, D. W. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, A128.
Vol. 74 No. 12 December 1997 • Journal of Chemical Education
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